SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
This invention relates to a beverage cup holder, and especially a beverage cup holder adapted for installation in an automotive vehicle, e.g. a car or truck.
The beverage cup holder is preferably capable of holding various different size beverage cups, e.g. a coffee mug, soft drink can, small plastic cup, or large plastic cup. The aim is to provide a cup holder that does not require one specific size cup (container), whereby the user is not required to allocate a particular container for use in the cup holder.
In preferred practice of the invention the beverage cup holder is equipped with plural slots adapted to store audio tape casettes or compact discs, whereby the user can play recordings on the cassette player or disc player in the vehicle. The beverage cup holder is installable in the vehicle alongside the driver's seat and/or alongside the front passenger's seat, such that the beverage cup and tape cassettes are within easy reach of the driver or front seat passenger.
The invention includes an adjustable mounting mechanism for the cup holder, whereby the user can shift the cup holder limited distances in accordance with the available space and user convenience. Different vehicles have slightly different arrangements of the dashboard, front seats, and console between the front seats. The adjustable mounting mechanism of the present invention adapts the beverage cup holder to various different vehicle designs while still giving the user some range of adjustment to a convenient position wherein he or she can reach the beverage cup without uncomfortably twisting or bending the wrist or arm.
In vehicles equipped with a center console between the driver's seat and front passenger seat the console mounts the parking brake handle and drive transmission selector lever. The console is thus relatively large, leaving only a relatively small vacant space between the console and the leg of the vehicle occupant. This results in a relatively small space available for a beverage cup holder. The present invention contemplates an elongated flexible conduit as a mounting mechanism for the beverage cup holder. The flexible conduit can be bent and flexed to adjustably position the cup holder in a range of different locations proximate to the vehicle seat.
The invention contemplates a beverage cup holder that can be constructed as a relatively small size appliance suitable for disposition in relatively small clearance spaces commonly found in automotive vehicles. The beverage cup holder preferably includes an adjustable gripper mechanism designed to hold a range of different size beverage containers without tipping or bouncing out of the holder. The capability of the holder to adjust to different size containers enables the cup holder to be constructed as a small size device, since there is no need for providing multiple different-size cup holder openings that would necessarily increase the overall dimensions of the cup holder.
Also, as previously noted, the cup holder includes an elongated flexible conduit mounting mechanism that enables the cup holder to take various different adjusted positions in the vehicle, in accordance with the available space and user preferences. The elongated flexible conduit can be formed of interlocking collars having hinging capabilities or a single strip of material wound helically to achieve conduit flexibility and mechanical stiffness. Such elongated flexible conduits are commonly used as housings for electrical wiring and as support mechanisms for desk lamps.
Specific features of the invention will be apparent from the attached drawings and description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
In summary, and in accordance with the above discussion, the foregoing objectives are achieved in the following embodiments.
1. A beverage cup holder adapted for installation in an automotive vehicle comprising:
a tray having a bottom wall and upstanding side walls; PA1 a cover overlying said tray; PA1 a cup-accommodation opening in said cover; said opening having a central axis; and PA1 a cup-engagement gripper mechanism slidably positioned on said cover for movement toward or away from said central axis, whereby cups of varying diameter can be supported in the tray. PA1 a tray having a bottom wall and upstanding side walls; PA1 cover removably attached to said tray so as to overlie the tray bottom wall; said cover having an upper surface and a lower surface; PA1 means for removeably supporting said tray in an automotive vehicle, comprising an elongated flexible conduit extending from the tray bottom wall; said flexible conduit having an end fitting adapted for attachment to an automotive seat, whereby said tray can be moved limited distances while being supported alongside the seat; PA1 said cover having a cup-accommodation opening that has a central vertical axis; PA1 a cup-engagement mechanism slidably positioned on the upper surface of said cover for movement toward or away from said central axis, whereby cups of varying diameter can be supported in the tray; PA1 an actuator extending upwardly from said cup-engagement mechanism for moving said mechanism; and PA1 a detent means for releasably holding said mechanism in selected positions of adjustment.
2. The beverage cup holder, as described in paragraph 1, wherein said cover has an upper surface and a lower surface; said gripper mechanism being slidably mounted for swinging movement along the cover upper surface.
3. The beverage cup holder, as described in paragraph 2, and further comprising a single actuator for said gripper mechanism; said actuator having a drive connection with said gripper mechanism, whereby movement of said actuator causes said gripper mechanism to move toward or away from said central axis.
4. The beverage cup holder, as described in paragraph 3, wherein said drive connection comprises a handle extending upwardly from said gripper mechanism.
5. The beverage cup holder, as described in paragraph 4, and further comprising a detent means carried by said gripper mechanism for releasably retaining said gripper mechanism in selected positions of adjustment.
6. The beverage cup holder, as described in paragraph 1, and further comprising plural audio tape cassette slots in said cover; said cover being spaced a lesser distance from the tray bottom wall than the width dimension of a tape cassette, whereby a tape cassette placed in any given slot projects above the plane of said cover so as to be readily accessed.
7. The beverage cup holder, as described in paragraph 6, wherein there are four tape cassette slots arranged symmetrically around said cup-accommodation opening.
8. The beverage cup holder, as described in paragraph 1, and further comprising an elongated flexible conduit extending from said tray, said flexible conduit having an end fitting adapted for attachment to an automotive seat, whereby said tray can be adjustably supported proximate to the seat.
9. The beverage cup holder, as described in paragraph 8, wherein said flexible conduit is attached to the tray bottom wall at a central point on said bottom wall.
10. A beverage cup holder for use in an automotive vehicle, comprising: